Well, I mean, they were pretty much always niche. They had a lot of mainstream appea after FFVII hit largely just because of the graphical novelty of cgi movies.
yea, 6 of my top 10 games are all PS1 games!! 6!! & the top 4 are: 1) Chrono Trigger, 2) Valkyire Profile, 3) Final Fantasy VI, & 4) Chrono Cross... & ,well, would you look at that, all are RPGs
This was an immensely important game to me when I played it as a twelve year old. It was the first time I really had to think about free will, the possibility of a multiverse, the impacts of colonialism, grief in the face of tragedy, and so much more. I haven’t stopped thinking about it to this day.
Same, this was the game that 10 year old me absolutely fell head over heels for. I got some of the situations and themes back then but every time I replayed it growing up, I noticed more and it just solidified my adoration for it even more. I will probably cry(again, I cried at the announcement) when I buy it, too. ;w;
5:19 NOT a brand new feature! People keep saying that! The fast-forward and slow-down features were already in the game as NG+ benefits. The only difference is it's now a standard feature of the game from the beginning, along with some new booster cheats like the Final Fantasy ports have.
I knew he wouldn't talk about all the frame rate and stuttering problems. go watch digital foundries video. He never talks about any negative stuff about games. The frame rate is worse then the ps1 game.
I know it sounds absurd but this is probably one of the most hyped game releases in my entire life. Living in a PAL region means that Chrono Cross was always a holy grail
Wow, I didn't know it never came out there. So happy for you to finally be able to own a copy of it. It's one of my fav games. Even though it has a lot visual and gameplay warts now, the characters and visual atmosphere are still such a delight even all these years later
Not absurd at all. I'm a fellow PAL gamer that jumped through many hoops to play this at release. Awesome game and may be my no 1 ever. By FAR my favourite soundtrack as well. Can't wait 😀😀😀
I have a love hate relationship with the game. The music, graphics, and gameplay all had me in awe back in the day. I didn't care for the late game story and didn't feel like they did enough with most of the extra characters you can pick up. Still highly worth playing and buying though to judge for yourself, because at the end of the day it was still a fun journey.
Yeah I too had a love/hate relationship with the game. I loved the music and some story elements but the random difficulty and odd decision to tie this game to Chrono Trigger is what brought it down for me. So much so that I will happily play Chrono Trigger again and again but haven't even thought about this game until now. Heck I sold my copy of Chrono Cross and never felt the need to play it since for 22 years. It just didn't stick with me the way Trigger did.
@Fafnd I just replayed my ps1 copy a while back. I haven't played it since it was first released. Its an ambitious game, but yeah it doesn't make sense to tie it to Chrono Trigger, other than they wanted to make sure people bought this game based on CT's popularity.
I would *love* if they even gave *this* treatment to Xenogears and Legend of Dragoon. It really is the game that gives me hope that even these ones that had more of a niche(though still substantial) following get to see a new generation of gamers enjoy them the way we did and with a lot of nice perks for those who do just want to experience an amazing story.
Yes! Both of those games would be great right now! I had L.O.D but i let a friend borrow it and got it back with scratches. Xenogears is a game that I always wanted but never got around to playing it. I'm having a blast playing all the ps1 remaster games that are out now. Especially the ones I missed. Man I miss childhood 😢 😪!
I still have my original copy from when I was 9 or 10 years old lol. Saved up some allowance and went to Toys R Us. This game is probably still in my top 5 games so I'm looking forward to playing it again.
I still have mine, although I'm a bit older and bought this with money from my first IT job. I had Chrono Trigger in the box with poster and manual. Sold it on eBay back in... 99?... to help finance my honeymoon.
Ive always thought of Chrono Cross as being the Bill and Ted’s “Bogus Journey” to Chrono Triggers “Excellent adventure”…Given the respective time/spiritual travel aspects of the games, haha.
As a fan of these two films I almost know exactly what to expect when I play Chrono Trigger and Cross now lol! Trigger is gonna be an absolute classic in every sense of the word. Cross is gonna be VERY unique and low key my favorite of the two lol
This is a fantastic and super helfpul review of this game. I really appreciate you putting this together. I know its 2 years old but it still helped me!
I truly love watching your videos man. It is so refreshing to see someone so genuine talk about their love for role-playing games. Keep the content rolling I will keep watching.
I've loved this game since I got it in late August 2000! It's not Chrono Trigger 2, but damn did Cross nearly moved me to tears with its story, music, and atmosphere.
Glad to hear that this remaster has the Happy Console Gamer seal of approval. I'd have likely bought it regardless as I never played the original, but it makes me that much more excited, hearing that they handled it well (other than the lack of black bars).
Go watch the Digital Foundry technical analysis if you want to see how bad of a job they actually did with this 'remaster'. It actually runs worse than the PS1 original.
It bothers me a lot how much lag there is in battle with the updated models. It’s infuriating having to hit left or right multiple times to cycle through the element grid, and sometimes having to hit X multiple times to select attacks. I can’t believe they didn’t fix the frame rate either, and I’m playing it on Ps5. I had to change it back to the originally style and the lag went away.
The selection lag went away when reverting to original? I've been playing the RD on Switch and it looks fantastic, heck I'll even deal with the random frame drops but in battle, when I have to mash 'A' a couple times before my elements or attack is selected it feels frustrating. For whatever reason if in battle using "Dynamic camera" it seems a bit better.
@@irrelevanthero7410 The framerate issue is indeed there with the Graphics mode no matter which console you use. And yes, the frame rate is a lot better in the PS1 version. You'll probably even get better framerate with an emulator if you overclock it and get a perfect 30 fps.
god i love this game, i'm so happy they've remastered it. I'm not sure if I should get it on PC or switch tbh, but I think having it on a handheld would be lovely
Steammmm, but I am biased, I love PC first lol. Though, think about the future, if you buy a Steam Deck, maybe? lol. Best of both worlds then? Though I can see the appeal if you will travel a lot and already have a Switch. For me I like all my games on Steam and only buy them on consoles when I have no choice!
I bought it on Steam because I want access to the mods that will certainly come from the PC community. They worked wonders with the FF Pixel Remasters. I am also tempted to get it from PlayAsia though so I have the physical copy for Switch.
Saga Frontier is my gold standard for how to treat an older game in terms of a remaster/enhanced version. This seems lacking in terms of new features or enhancements.
One of the best all time rpgs in my personal rating. Awesome plot. Element skills animation were really, really impressive at the time. The same goes for soundtrack - still continue to listen to it from time to time. Will definitely get the physical copy on Switch and play it one more time.
Not sure if anyone said it or not but once you beat Chrono Cross the first time on the PS1. On your 2nd playthrough you get the ability to fast forward or slow down.
I already bought this game. I didn't need to watch this video. But his opinions mirror mine in a lot of ways. Does anyone else find a delay in pressing the buttons sometimes or just me? I don't care. I'm loving it again. Things I learned 20 years after playing it; you can run away from any battle to reallocate your elements/change party members to do better.
@@EPS5000 Boss gave you level, but random battles give you small stats boots after gaining a level, materials for crafting weapons and money. You need to fill out your elements grid (there is no healing item in this game. You use your element (magic) to heal instead.)
That's not really needed set a Heal All/Recover all element to LV 1 slot then you won't need to fight the normal enemies besides in between bosses you only get the stat boosts for around 3 to 4 total battles then won't gain ANY more until you kill the next boss. So a no encounters run besides the forced ones is still doable.
I've been binging through your videos, from games to anime to your past experiences you share with us and your loved ones... and to quote you: it has "changed my life." Thank you so much. I'm watching Macross Plus now :)
Love this game! Sprigg was always my fav character and she gets crazy strong especially with the new game plus special transformations! Will be picking up for sure!
This game stuck with me all these years. It seriously touched my heart. Probably one of the deeper RPGs out there. I like how it felt so realistic. Nothing was ever perfect regardless of the world you wound up in. There was so much sadness yet there were plenty of happy moments too. The thing that really gripped me was the story telling and visuals. At some point I stopped "playing" the game and instead began seeing it as my own personal mission to learn the truth behind everything.
how are you gushing and not even mentioning the horrid framerate issues? it's fine to be a fanboy (i am too, i love chrono cross), but the "remaster" is a huge cashgrab and nostalgia bait from squaresoft IMO! it's a shameless port of a psx game that runs really bad on Switch / PS4 / PS5, so to anybody out there watching this video: DON'T BUY JUST NOW, wait until squaresoft eventually patches the game. not worth the 20bucks rn.
You seriously cannot go wrong with the music in this game. It goes to show you how masterful, versatile, and global Yasunori Mitsuda's work ethic as a music composer is. That is what made this soundtrack very memorable and gripping as I would say that his work is a thing of legend. He may not be the Beethoven of Japanese video game music as Nobuo Uematsu, but Mitsuda is truly an upper echelon amongst other composers in Japan. Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is something I'm ready to replay, again. Great review, Johnny!
The only reviewer, does not matter what game it is always has me engaged in the content to where i can actually watch the whole video and not bounce.. keep up the great work.
The the SNES and PS1 era Squaresoft RPGs are my favorite time in gaming, by far. This game holds such a special place for me for many reasons, the summer it came out I worked in a computer lab and just looked up every screen shot there was and lived on the message boards, when it came out I became very sick and was stuck at home in doors for a couple months and this game got me through that. Chrono Cross has what I think is the perfect sound track and is in my number 1 slot since the day I heard it on the little sampler CD i got for preordering, along with the little clock next to Johnny in the video. I would make my first import ever and import the OST and I listened to that while writing papers through 4 years of undergrad and 3 years of post graduate work. Felt good typing this comment and remembering some just great simpler times.
Thanks for the review and clarity on the music (something that wasn't a HUGE deal to me, but I was still curious about, as I agree, it is a GOAT level OST). I too liked Cross more than Trigger. However, I never actually finished Cross. I stopped playing after the Lynx swap, mid-game, for whatever reason (I was very bad at finishing games in the past). But now I can experience the whole thing again! Really excited to get around to playing this.
Square deserve to be publicly shamed for ruining this classic. It is despicable. They just can't seem to do anything right now a days. So frustrating, so disappointing.
Not just Square Enix. It's numerous game companies pushing great games into the same gorge. Makes me worried about what will happen if they decide to remake it.
So, I too played this back when it released and it's easily in my top 10 . The simple fact you can play through it dozens of times and get a different experience each time is just insane.
One of my favorite RPGs of all time! I didn't think that I would see a remaster of this game in my lifetime. This game was a hidden treasure that nobody talked about and was the game that got me hooked on RPGs!
Thank you so much for clarifying the music thing, that was honestly swaying my decision on whether I bought this at launch or waited until some PC mods fixed it. Great review!
I can’t believe that we are now able to buy and play the original Radical Dreamers. It was such a mystery way back in the day and now we have it. Crazy.
I like to consider those events as loosely canon in another universe. I had fun considering it was my first text based adventure game. I wanted more when I finished the story.
I just LOVE when developers give you the option between the original graphics and the new graphics sometimes they give you the choice of soundtracks as well
The graphics option is fine when it doesn't cause a ton of lag. Even 343 managed to do it right with Halo CEA and Halo 2A. Chrono Cross is a game from the PS1. Maybe its development was rushed, as many producers get off to these days.
This game is definitely one of the top RPG on the PS1 for me. Played this so much time when I was 14. The BGM is very dear to me especially 'Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World'. I remember where I load the game just to hear that bgm on the background while studying or doing other things. Gonna pick this up for sure.
Glad they didn’t change the music! It’s my favourite video game soundtrack. It’s just like a super chilled funky acoustic band. So different! I’m commenting from your native Yorkshire btw Johnny
I'm so excited for this one. Ever since I got rid of my PS2, I haven't had a good way to play this, and it's one of my favorites. Glad to hear they didn't change the music, although the main battle theme is really bad but I love all of the other tracks.
There are definitely fps issues in the game. However, some of this can actually be fixed by changing to full screen, especially in hand held mode. Hand held mode with full screen is MUCH smoother. I discovered this myself.
Im new to this channel but omg!! I loooove this channel. The passion John has when he talks about video games and his stories growing up and his favorite games. I hope to see more videos with Andrew!
Same. I've been listening the OST till nowadays and play some with my guitar too. It made me cry reminiscing all that joyful moment playing CC over and over till I get all the playable chars.
I loved this game when I first played it many years ago. What I absolutely love about this game is the soundtrack. Notably, if you listen to "The Dead Sea" track, it is eerily similar to the Sealed Door track from Chrono Trigger. Absolutely wild stuff.
@@armorvil That song is fantastic and sticks in my mind. I usually dislike constantly looping Square Enix battle tracks that never change, but this is the one exception.
22 years I've been saying this needed to happen and last night my life was complete. I may be 34, failing love life, failing music career, but I am actually happy for the first time in a long time. 8 hours in and still in viper manor cause i wanna take my sweet time with this one. CC & CT are the BEST games ever created and always will be. btw im the guy that did the Dead Sea & Radical Dreamers Rap Songs :P
Just so the overly positive Review doesnt caught you off guard guys, the performance on this game Is really truly awful, It manages to run worse on a PS5 than the original does on a PS1. The AI upscaling to the backgrounds doesnt match the overall look either that the game had, and even though the new models look pretty nice on their own they dont fit the backgrounds anymore just like in FFVIII before this. I know this Is a very positive channel but i think a Review should definitely mention the glaring issues a game has, It may not bother you and you can still enjoy this wonderful game, but this things shouldnt be avoided, no matter how ignorant on the subject you may be. Really hoping Square steps up on the masterpiece games the re-release, Give them to experts like M2 with the Collection of Mana or really put the resources. Not to put people of It, this Is just More info so you decide, any way you can enjoy this game should be ok if you are having fun.
As much as I loved the original game, I would never buy this blatant cash grab by Square Enix. The technical aspects of this game is so poor that it isn't worthy to be called a remaster. For f**k sake the frame rates are worst on PS5 compared to the original which is a PS1 title. Please don't support greedy Square Enix. They're just cashing on your nostalgia. Such a disgrace to the original.
So the story goes, yasunori mitsuda had a breakdown composing chrono trigger, and uematsu had to help. Mitsuda did the entirety of chrono cross on his own, and it’s arguably his masterpiece. Difficult for me to replay this game without tears! So much nostalgia.
Excited to replay through this and maybe finally beat the secret boss, glad for all the graphical updates & also speed up features are so nice especially when grinding levels in some of these classic RPG's.
Thank you for the great and informative review! I was scouring the internet and various video game websites for in depth info about this remake, and your comprehensive review is truly the best!
10:15 what are your top 5 video game soundtracks of all time? I'd love to see you make a video on that, unless you already have in which case I will search for lol
Some of the best music in a video game, rpg or any other genre, and a HUGE game with tons of characters and possibilities. I was wondering how long it would take for it to come to switch or another modern remastered release. NOICHE!
Being older, it is so hard to find the time even for the best of games. I loved ChronoTrigger and ChronoCross had been on my radar for sometime. But with an ever expanding todo list of games and just not enough time, I'm always looking for any tiny reason to drop a game from my todo list. After watching your review, you've made it very hard to turn my back on trying this and it might be the next game I start up.... Love your channel and nostalgia!
Sounds good! I will buy it! The graphics aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. I’ve been giving Grandia HD a go a few times and I have a really hard time getting over the “””upgraded””” graphics.
@Penguin Economics The only bad thing is how the character models sometimes get literally chopped up. As if they're 2 models instead of 1 and you see lines separating them
I suggest Legend of Dragoon as well if you can find it. It's another great PS1 game. Been years since I've played it so I don't remember much about it except for an annoying multi boss ghost battle.
I missed this game back in the day and am really looking forward to playing it! I have crono trigger I believe on 3ds but haven't played it yet but looking forward to that as well. love your vidoes keep up the good work!
lazy port again , but happy to re do it in my native langage this time , but Square Enix should make more effort.. i mean for 20 bucks we should have chrono Trigger too with it , i'm tired of these games sold one by one that have 20 years or more for this price.. it's nostalgia of course and a rip off..
I’m happy to hear about the music. They made the mistake with the arranged music replacing the original music in the FF pixel remasters with no option for the original.
Had to add this to my classic collection on the switch. Chrono cross, saga frontier, grandia collection, FF 7,8,9,10, SMT nocturne. If you liked the ps1 this is your time!
Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to know! Seems like they did a pretty good job like the FF8 remaster. I never did beat this game but always wanted to. One of the all-time best soundtracks and aesthetics in a game.
Thank you for the measured review that gives gist of what most of us that played the original need to know before we decide to purchase. I've seen lots of hyperbolic rants from review sites and JRPG superfans with criticisms I suspected were unreasonable and you've helped confirm my suspicions. Yes a proper full fledged remaster from the ground up with manual touches to all aspects of the game by the devs would have been nice as we're essentially getting a AI assisted upscale with some quality of life improvements here and there but I'm just happy to finally be able to play this on PC and that it's at least halfway decent version. It's funny how you mentioned what a "big deal" this game was back in the day and I absolutely remember all the hype from the gaming press and lots of perfect 10/10 or 9.8/10 scores but it ultimately fizzed pretty rapidly into relative obscurity during the PS2 era. I think that's because it's a pretty flawed game in a lot of respects once you peel back the veneer of the stellar production quality - i.e. muddled overly complex story, dubious/almost non-existent connection to Chrono Trigger, & a baffling overabundance of useless player-characters that held it back from achieving the timeless quality of Chrono Trigger or FFVII. As such I personally don't blame SE for not putting a lot of resources into this version as I predict fairly modest sales as ultimately it's a pretty niche IP in 2022. As for me I haven't played this since the PS3 digital version about 10 years ago so I'm excited to give it another whirl.
@@jamescampisi7716 Chill out Mr. Edgelord - no need to be an abrasive asshole to people that are interested in playing the damn game. I'm about 4 hours in and it's fine & perfectly playable with a bit of tweaking in Nvidia settings to turn on V-Sync & max the framerate at 59. Is it perfect? No. Should i have been required to mess with Nvidia settings to improve performance? No. Could SQE have done a better job with the AI upscaling and optimization? Yes. But is it serviceable and halfway decent? Yes. I also watched the Digital Foundries video and while their points are completely cogent & solid there's also an element of emotionalism in their critique because the game is obviously near and dear to them. As for myself as I stated previously I consider it somewhat of a failed experiment, a very rough gem so to speak, and as such don't consider it sacred. If some people that really love the game wanted more than an unoptimized glorified emulated version, are disappointed in SQE, and are voting "no" with their wallet I completely respect that. However a lot of us just want to play the damn game on PC or some other format that's not the essentially discontinued digital PS3 version from 10 years ago or going through the hassle of finding a (legal) copy of the original and getting it working/optimized on an emulator. It's still a fun game and I and others are having a great time playing even though the version is underwhelming. That doesn't make us bad people and if you want to warn people avoid the game on account of the technical deficiencies of the game there's much more respectable ways to go about it...
Man, the PS1 era really was something special for RPG fans. We had hit after hit, and so many varied rpg experiences. Good times!
Yup! Now days JRPGs are niche it's Ashame really
It was the golden age of RPGs
Well, I mean, they were pretty much always niche. They had a lot of mainstream appea after FFVII hit largely just because of the graphical novelty of cgi movies.
Square and Enix were not togheter yet and lowkey competing against each others, so we got that golden era of JRPG
yea, 6 of my top 10 games are all PS1 games!! 6!! & the top 4 are:
1) Chrono Trigger, 2) Valkyire Profile, 3) Final Fantasy VI, & 4) Chrono Cross... & ,well, would you look at that, all are RPGs
This was an immensely important game to me when I played it as a twelve year old. It was the first time I really had to think about free will, the possibility of a multiverse, the impacts of colonialism, grief in the face of tragedy, and so much more. I haven’t stopped thinking about it to this day.
Same, this was the game that 10 year old me absolutely fell head over heels for. I got some of the situations and themes back then but every time I replayed it growing up, I noticed more and it just solidified my adoration for it even more.
I will probably cry(again, I cried at the announcement) when I buy it, too. ;w;
@Sorey Chrono cross and Tactics are my always in my heart RPG games
It was ahead of its time
Between Chrono Cross, Legend of Dragoon, and FF IX, it was a good time to be in middle school.
Not just colonialism but also (American) interventionism, through the exposition of the consequences of Chrono Trigger's time travels.
5:19 NOT a brand new feature! People keep saying that! The fast-forward and slow-down features were already in the game as NG+ benefits. The only difference is it's now a standard feature of the game from the beginning, along with some new booster cheats like the Final Fantasy ports have.
I knew he wouldn't talk about all the frame rate and stuttering problems. go watch digital foundries video. He never talks about any negative stuff about games.
The frame rate is worse then the ps1 game.
I know it sounds absurd but this is probably one of the most hyped game releases in my entire life. Living in a PAL region means that Chrono Cross was always a holy grail
Imagine if they would release Xenogears here as well..
@@Deadono My god don't even get me thinking of it
Wow, I didn't know it never came out there. So happy for you to finally be able to own a copy of it. It's one of my fav games. Even though it has a lot visual and gameplay warts now, the characters and visual atmosphere are still such a delight even all these years later
Damn, European gamers really got shafted back in the day
Not absurd at all. I'm a fellow PAL gamer that jumped through many hoops to play this at release. Awesome game and may be my no 1 ever. By FAR my favourite soundtrack as well. Can't wait 😀😀😀
I have a love hate relationship with the game. The music, graphics, and gameplay all had me in awe back in the day. I didn't care for the late game story and didn't feel like they did enough with most of the extra characters you can pick up. Still highly worth playing and buying though to judge for yourself, because at the end of the day it was still a fun journey.
Yeah I too had a love/hate relationship with the game. I loved the music and some story elements but the random difficulty and odd decision to tie this game to Chrono Trigger is what brought it down for me. So much so that I will happily play Chrono Trigger again and again but haven't even thought about this game until now. Heck I sold my copy of Chrono Cross and never felt the need to play it since for 22 years. It just didn't stick with me the way Trigger did.
@Fafnd I just replayed my ps1 copy a while back. I haven't played it since it was first released. Its an ambitious game, but yeah it doesn't make sense to tie it to Chrono Trigger, other than they wanted to make sure people bought this game based on CT's popularity.
The budget for this game ran out. They cut some corners towards the end of the game
The story does a huge exposition dump at the end, but the overarching story is pretty awesome if you can make the connections.
0ⁿ
I would *love* if they even gave *this* treatment to Xenogears and Legend of Dragoon. It really is the game that gives me hope that even these ones that had more of a niche(though still substantial) following get to see a new generation of gamers enjoy them the way we did and with a lot of nice perks for those who do just want to experience an amazing story.
I've been hoping for a LoD remake/remaster for a long time. One day.
Yes! Both of those games would be great right now! I had L.O.D but i let a friend borrow it and got it back with scratches. Xenogears is a game that I always wanted but never got around to playing it. I'm having a blast playing all the ps1 remaster games that are out now. Especially the ones I missed. Man I miss childhood 😢 😪!
Guys they are remaking Legend of Dragoon on ps4
@@DokesConspiracyNetwork
Yeah sure and Xenogears is getting a dlc update for its psn version with more game play on disc 2
Legend of dragoon deserves a remaster. Such a damn good rpg that was amazingly NOT squaresoft
I still have my original copy from when I was 9 or 10 years old lol. Saved up some allowance and went to Toys R Us.
This game is probably still in my top 5 games so I'm looking forward to playing it again.
I still have mine, although I'm a bit older and bought this with money from my first IT job. I had Chrono Trigger in the box with poster and manual. Sold it on eBay back in... 99?... to help finance my honeymoon.
Ive always thought of Chrono Cross as being the Bill and Ted’s “Bogus Journey” to Chrono Triggers “Excellent adventure”…Given the respective time/spiritual travel aspects of the games, haha.
People usually laugh when I say Bogus Journey is one of the greatest sequels. I love that movie. It’s so inventive and unique. I get your comparison.
I prefer bogus journey so that sounds like a win.
As a fan of these two films I almost know exactly what to expect when I play Chrono Trigger and Cross now lol! Trigger is gonna be an absolute classic in every sense of the word. Cross is gonna be VERY unique and low key my favorite of the two lol
Lol very true
This is a fantastic and super helfpul review of this game. I really appreciate you putting this together. I know its 2 years old but it still helped me!
Looks like I’ll have to break out the old strategy guide and replay this again for the 50th time.
I memorized even to this day. I'm playing with my memories of it👌
I love using old guides with m games I have this one as well
I truly love watching your videos man. It is so refreshing to see someone so genuine talk about their love for role-playing games. Keep the content rolling I will keep watching.
I think he's reviewing this more as a fan than a critic.
You didn't mention the 10fps lag throughout that ruins the experience
Chrono Cross is in my top 10 RPG’s of all time. Can’t wait to get it for my Switch.
I've loved this game since I got it in late August 2000! It's not Chrono Trigger 2, but damn did Cross nearly moved me to tears with its story, music, and atmosphere.
People were saying it ran like crap. 5-15 fps in some spots. Did they patch it now??
Glad to hear that this remaster has the Happy Console Gamer seal of approval. I'd have likely bought it regardless as I never played the original, but it makes me that much more excited, hearing that they handled it well (other than the lack of black bars).
AGREED BROTHER! 👍
Go watch the Digital Foundry technical analysis if you want to see how bad of a job they actually did with this 'remaster'. It actually runs worse than the PS1 original.
It bothers me a lot how much lag there is in battle with the updated models. It’s infuriating having to hit left or right multiple times to cycle through the element grid, and sometimes having to hit X multiple times to select attacks.
I can’t believe they didn’t fix the frame rate either, and I’m playing it on Ps5. I had to change it back to the originally style and the lag went away.
The selection lag went away when reverting to original? I've been playing the RD on Switch and it looks fantastic, heck I'll even deal with the random frame drops but in battle, when I have to mash 'A' a couple times before my elements or attack is selected it feels frustrating. For whatever reason if in battle using "Dynamic camera" it seems a bit better.
@@irrelevanthero7410 The framerate issue is indeed there with the Graphics mode no matter which console you use. And yes, the frame rate is a lot better in the PS1 version. You'll probably even get better framerate with an emulator if you overclock it and get a perfect 30 fps.
Ngl, frame rates continue to drop for me. Still love the game. 🔥🔥
I found that odd. It doesn't look like they added many polygons if they did.
god i love this game, i'm so happy they've remastered it. I'm not sure if I should get it on PC or switch tbh, but I think having it on a handheld would be lovely
games that are on the Switch are almost always considered vs other platforms. i weigh if im gonna play it on the go. or heck on the couch.
@@AugustusMcMillan I got it on steam because I had a gift card handy, but I think I'm gonna get it on switch too, later :3
Steammmm, but I am biased, I love PC first lol. Though, think about the future, if you buy a Steam Deck, maybe? lol. Best of both worlds then? Though I can see the appeal if you will travel a lot and already have a Switch. For me I like all my games on Steam and only buy them on consoles when I have no choice!
I bought it on Steam because I want access to the mods that will certainly come from the PC community. They worked wonders with the FF Pixel Remasters. I am also tempted to get it from PlayAsia though so I have the physical copy for Switch.
@@armorvil Just outta curiosity what would you guys prefer the battle theme changed to?
Saga Frontier is my gold standard for how to treat an older game in terms of a remaster/enhanced version. This seems lacking in terms of new features or enhancements.
That and legend of mana. Except maybe ff9 that barely fits, the rest isnt worth shit
Terrible remaster. Terrible garbage performance
One of the best all time rpgs in my personal rating. Awesome plot. Element skills animation were really, really impressive at the time. The same goes for soundtrack - still continue to listen to it from time to time. Will definitely get the physical copy on Switch and play it one more time.
Not sure if anyone said it or not but once you beat Chrono Cross the first time on the PS1. On your 2nd playthrough you get the ability to fast forward or slow down.
Even after all these years that opening theme still gets me. It's just a great piece of music that sets the mood for the game perfectly.
It’s a masterpiece.
I never played this but 20 years. That is so much time. That’s a lifetime or nearly for so many humans through history
I already bought this game. I didn't need to watch this video. But his opinions mirror mine in a lot of ways.
Does anyone else find a delay in pressing the buttons sometimes or just me? I don't care. I'm loving it again.
Things I learned 20 years after playing it; you can run away from any battle to reallocate your elements/change party members to do better.
5:40 -- If you turn off random battles, how do you level up? (assuming you battle to level up, I don't know, I never played this game)
Only bosses give you levels. Theres no exp system in this game.
@@TheManaTree777 Ok well in that case, I'll leave the random battle off when I eventually pick this game up.
@@EPS5000 Boss gave you level, but random battles give you small stats boots after gaining a level, materials for crafting weapons and money. You need to fill out your elements grid (there is no healing item in this game. You use your element (magic) to heal instead.)
@@zhaoyun255 Oh that's useful, good to know thanks. I'll keep random battles on then. 👍
That's not really needed set a Heal All/Recover all element to LV 1 slot then you won't need to fight the normal enemies besides in between bosses you only get the stat boosts for around 3 to 4 total battles then won't gain ANY more until you kill the next boss.
So a no encounters run besides the forced ones is still doable.
I've been binging through your videos, from games to anime to your past experiences you share with us and your loved ones... and to quote you: it has "changed my life." Thank you so much. I'm watching Macross Plus now :)
Love this game! Sprigg was always my fav character and she gets crazy strong especially with the new game plus special transformations! Will be picking up for sure!
The Z-slash triple tech was great
Named my wifes cat sprigg she doesnt know the reference yet but maybe she will see me playing on ps4 and figure it out.
@@TheSean89420 Does your cat frequently watch you play videogames?
@@TheSean89420 can her cat transform into a giant blue frog-dolphin who will dropkick your ass though?
This game stuck with me all these years. It seriously touched my heart. Probably one of the deeper RPGs out there. I like how it felt so realistic. Nothing was ever perfect regardless of the world you wound up in. There was so much sadness yet there were plenty of happy moments too. The thing that really gripped me was the story telling and visuals. At some point I stopped "playing" the game and instead began seeing it as my own personal mission to learn the truth behind everything.
how are you gushing and not even mentioning the horrid framerate issues? it's fine to be a fanboy (i am too, i love chrono cross), but the "remaster" is a huge cashgrab and nostalgia bait from squaresoft IMO! it's a shameless port of a psx game that runs really bad on Switch / PS4 / PS5, so to anybody out there watching this video: DON'T BUY JUST NOW, wait until squaresoft eventually patches the game. not worth the 20bucks rn.
Still has the frame rate problem unfortunately. It was probably rushed as producers tend to do these days.
The Fast Forward and Slow down were originally unlocked in New Game Plus.
You seriously cannot go wrong with the music in this game. It goes to show you how masterful, versatile, and global Yasunori Mitsuda's work ethic as a music composer is. That is what made this soundtrack very memorable and gripping as I would say that his work is a thing of legend. He may not be the Beethoven of Japanese video game music as Nobuo Uematsu, but Mitsuda is truly an upper echelon amongst other composers in Japan.
Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers Edition is something I'm ready to replay, again. Great review, Johnny!
Chrono Cross and Trial of Mana have top tier music.
I’d rather listen to his stuff than Beethoven.
Great review and thank you for confirming its the original music. I was worried they changed it.
I ordered a physical copy from playasia as well! Can't wait for this to come and to play through the game! PS1 really had some legendary RPGs!
The only reviewer, does not matter what game it is always has me engaged in the content to where i can actually watch the whole video and not bounce.. keep up the great work.
The the SNES and PS1 era Squaresoft RPGs are my favorite time in gaming, by far. This game holds such a special place for me for many reasons, the summer it came out I worked in a computer lab and just looked up every screen shot there was and lived on the message boards, when it came out I became very sick and was stuck at home in doors for a couple months and this game got me through that. Chrono Cross has what I think is the perfect sound track and is in my number 1 slot since the day I heard it on the little sampler CD i got for preordering, along with the little clock next to Johnny in the video. I would make my first import ever and import the OST and I listened to that while writing papers through 4 years of undergrad and 3 years of post graduate work. Felt good typing this comment and remembering some just great simpler times.
Thanks for the review and clarity on the music (something that wasn't a HUGE deal to me, but I was still curious about, as I agree, it is a GOAT level OST). I too liked Cross more than Trigger. However, I never actually finished Cross. I stopped playing after the Lynx swap, mid-game, for whatever reason (I was very bad at finishing games in the past). But now I can experience the whole thing again! Really excited to get around to playing this.
Square deserve to be publicly shamed for ruining this classic. It is
despicable. They just can't seem to do anything right now a days. So frustrating, so disappointing.
Not just Square Enix. It's numerous game companies pushing great games into the same gorge. Makes me worried about what will happen if they decide to remake it.
This game was never released in Europe. Now, finally I'm going to play it.
The soundtrack really is something special. It's not just one of my favorite game soundtracks, it's one of my favorite soundtracks of all time
So, I too played this back when it released and it's easily in my top 10 . The simple fact you can play through it dozens of times and get a different experience each time is just insane.
One of my favorite RPGs of all time! I didn't think that I would see a remaster of this game in my lifetime. This game was a hidden treasure that nobody talked about and was the game that got me hooked on RPGs!
Thank you so much for clarifying the music thing, that was honestly swaying my decision on whether I bought this at launch or waited until some PC mods fixed it. Great review!
I'm more more excited for this than any other remaster that's come out these last few years!
I can’t believe that we are now able to buy and play the original Radical Dreamers. It was such a mystery way back in the day and now we have it. Crazy.
I like to consider those events as loosely canon in another universe. I had fun considering it was my first text based adventure game. I wanted more when I finished the story.
I just LOVE when developers give you the option between the original graphics and the new graphics sometimes they give you the choice of soundtracks as well
@@jamescampisi7716 Why is it bad? What didn't you like?
The graphics option is fine when it doesn't cause a ton of lag. Even 343 managed to do it right with Halo CEA and Halo 2A. Chrono Cross is a game from the PS1. Maybe its development was rushed, as many producers get off to these days.
The high res with the low res textures are distracting. They should have done all or nothing with the upgrades...
This game is definitely one of the top RPG on the PS1 for me. Played this so much time when I was 14. The BGM is very dear to me especially 'Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World'. I remember where I load the game just to hear that bgm on the background while studying or doing other things. Gonna pick this up for sure.
Damn! The 'Dream of a Shore Bordering Another World' really is magic isn't it? I've done the same for nearly twenty years!
Glad they didn’t change the music! It’s my favourite video game soundtrack. It’s just like a super chilled funky acoustic band. So different!
I’m commenting from your native Yorkshire btw Johnny
I'm so excited for this one. Ever since I got rid of my PS2, I haven't had a good way to play this, and it's one of my favorites. Glad to hear they didn't change the music, although the main battle theme is really bad but I love all of the other tracks.
There are definitely fps issues in the game. However, some of this can actually be fixed by changing to full screen, especially in hand held mode. Hand held mode with full screen is MUCH smoother. I discovered this myself.
I wish they increased the framerate.
Watch that be $10 DLC 😂
Im new to this channel but omg!! I loooove this channel. The passion John has when he talks about video games and his stories growing up and his favorite games. I hope to see more videos with Andrew!
Never played Chrono Cross back in the day. Probably get it when it's on sale.
it only 20 dollar
@@animekingtoku
$20 ain't bad.
As a sequel to Chrono Trigger, it is awful. Maybe its better if viewed as its own thing
@@FallicIdol it isn't a sequel, the creator himself say so, it in the same world but it own game
@@FallicIdol 🤡
Same. I've been listening the OST till nowadays and play some with my guitar too. It made me cry reminiscing all that joyful moment playing CC over and over till I get all the playable chars.
I loved this game when I first played it many years ago. What I absolutely love about this game is the soundtrack. Notably, if you listen to "The Dead Sea" track, it is eerily similar to the Sealed Door track from Chrono Trigger. Absolutely wild stuff.
@@armorvil That song is fantastic and sticks in my mind. I usually dislike constantly looping Square Enix battle tracks that never change, but this is the one exception.
22 years I've been saying this needed to happen and last night my life was complete. I may be 34, failing love life, failing music career, but I am actually happy for the first time in a long time. 8 hours in and still in viper manor cause i wanna take my sweet time with this one. CC & CT are the BEST games ever created and always will be. btw im the guy that did the Dead Sea & Radical Dreamers Rap Songs :P
Looking forward to grabbing this on PC. The stuff fans have done to further enhance and improve these Square PS1 remasters has been incredible.
Heard it's a bad PC port though, awful framerate(15 FPS) and bad optimization.
I realized I somehow never subbed but always end up on your vids for all things RPG goodness. Keep it up! :)
Just so the overly positive Review doesnt caught you off guard guys, the performance on this game Is really truly awful, It manages to run worse on a PS5 than the original does on a PS1. The AI upscaling to the backgrounds doesnt match the overall look either that the game had, and even though the new models look pretty nice on their own they dont fit the backgrounds anymore just like in FFVIII before this.
I know this Is a very positive channel but i think a Review should definitely mention the glaring issues a game has, It may not bother you and you can still enjoy this wonderful game, but this things shouldnt be avoided, no matter how ignorant on the subject you may be.
Really hoping Square steps up on the masterpiece games the re-release, Give them to experts like M2 with the Collection of Mana or really put the resources.
Not to put people of It, this Is just More info so you decide, any way you can enjoy this game should be ok if you are having fun.
He is one of the few people just talking about the game and not upset that some words were changed.
As much as I loved the original game, I would never buy this blatant cash grab by Square Enix. The technical aspects of this game is so poor that it isn't worthy to be called a remaster. For f**k sake the frame rates are worst on PS5 compared to the original which is a PS1 title. Please don't support greedy Square Enix. They're just cashing on your nostalgia. Such a disgrace to the original.
So the story goes, yasunori mitsuda had a breakdown composing chrono trigger, and uematsu had to help. Mitsuda did the entirety of chrono cross on his own, and it’s arguably his masterpiece. Difficult for me to replay this game without tears! So much nostalgia.
Excited to replay through this and maybe finally beat the secret boss, glad for all the graphical updates & also speed up features are so nice especially when grinding levels in some of these classic RPG's.
Thank you for the great and informative review! I was scouring the internet and various video game websites for in depth info about this remake, and your comprehensive review is truly the best!
Thanks for the review, Johnny! Yours is the only review I need to watch
I can’t believe that I found someone else who also has a Chrono Cross clock!
So many memories!
Digital foundry tore the arse out this. Such a terrible job, the frame rate drops to below ps1 quality!!
10:15 what are your top 5 video game soundtracks of all time? I'd love to see you make a video on that, unless you already have in which case I will search for lol
Some of the best music in a video game, rpg or any other genre, and a HUGE game with tons of characters and possibilities. I was wondering how long it would take for it to come to switch or another modern remastered release. NOICHE!
"i beg to differ" on the intro part earns you an another new sub here mate
Thank you Johnny for this amazing review, I'm so happy I'll finally play Chrono Cross for the first time.
Being older, it is so hard to find the time even for the best of games.
I loved ChronoTrigger and ChronoCross had been on my radar for sometime.
But with an ever expanding todo list of games and just not enough time, I'm always looking for any tiny reason to drop a game from my todo list.
After watching your review, you've made it very hard to turn my back on trying this and it might be the next game I start up....
Love your channel and nostalgia!
I hope this also means a Vagrant Story remake 😁😁😁
One of my favorites of all time! I remember the commercial on TV late one night and was blown away!
Sounds good! I will buy it! The graphics aren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. I’ve been giving Grandia HD a go a few times and I have a really hard time getting over the “””upgraded””” graphics.
@Penguin Economics The only bad thing is how the character models sometimes get literally chopped up. As if they're 2 models instead of 1 and you see lines separating them
Hey, I remember that clock! I've still got it somewhere with the soundtrack CD. Looking forward to playing that game again soon
Thanks for the review! This game definitely shot up my wishlist, I’ve yet to play this one. I’ve recently got really into JRPG’s.
I suggest Legend of Dragoon as well if you can find it. It's another great PS1 game. Been years since I've played it so I don't remember much about it except for an annoying multi boss ghost battle.
I missed this game back in the day and am really looking forward to playing it! I have crono trigger I believe on 3ds but haven't played it yet but looking forward to that as well. love your vidoes keep up the good work!
lazy port again , but happy to re do it in my native langage this time , but Square Enix should make more effort.. i mean for 20 bucks we should have chrono Trigger too with it , i'm tired of these games sold one by one that have 20 years or more for this price.. it's nostalgia of course and a rip off..
just picked this up, missed this on ps1 psyched to get into it, great video!
The frame rate is terrible in this game. How this guy doesn't mention it shows how bad he is at reviewing things.
Is the dialogue 100% the same as the original? Is there any form of censorship? I miss answers to these important questions.
This looks better on emulation
Did you have a patch because I read a review saying the framerate is abysmal for a remaster like this
The next rpg remaster should be Legend of Legia imo.
Winning comment
That and Xenogears
I fell in love with this game back in 07-08 wen I lived in Idaho Falls,it got me thru hard times
The game does not look this good. They screwed it up so bad
I’m happy to hear about the music. They made the mistake with the arranged music replacing the original music in the FF pixel remasters with no option for the original.
Probably one of the worst remaster cash grabs I've ever seen from a company. Fans have done a way better job. Just play the original on an emulator.
Agreed. It could’ve been great, but just like most things Square does, it’s disappointing.
Had to add this to my classic collection on the switch. Chrono cross, saga frontier, grandia collection, FF 7,8,9,10, SMT nocturne. If you liked the ps1 this is your time!
Thanks, this is exactly what I wanted to know! Seems like they did a pretty good job like the FF8 remaster. I never did beat this game but always wanted to. One of the all-time best soundtracks and aesthetics in a game.
"Welcome back to another episooode... I just love the soundtrack."
Thanks for the great review and information about the OST! Really happy that the game has original OST with better quality :D one of my fav games!
Great review, I was also worried about the arranged soundtrack....but now I'm gonna buy this game right now.
Thank you for the measured review that gives gist of what most of us that played the original need to know before we decide to purchase. I've seen lots of hyperbolic rants from review sites and JRPG superfans with criticisms I suspected were unreasonable and you've helped confirm my suspicions. Yes a proper full fledged remaster from the ground up with manual touches to all aspects of the game by the devs would have been nice as we're essentially getting a AI assisted upscale with some quality of life improvements here and there but I'm just happy to finally be able to play this on PC and that it's at least halfway decent version.
It's funny how you mentioned what a "big deal" this game was back in the day and I absolutely remember all the hype from the gaming press and lots of perfect 10/10 or 9.8/10 scores but it ultimately fizzed pretty rapidly into relative obscurity during the PS2 era. I think that's because it's a pretty flawed game in a lot of respects once you peel back the veneer of the stellar production quality - i.e. muddled overly complex story, dubious/almost non-existent connection to Chrono Trigger, & a baffling overabundance of useless player-characters that held it back from achieving the timeless quality of Chrono Trigger or FFVII. As such I personally don't blame SE for not putting a lot of resources into this version as I predict fairly modest sales as ultimately it's a pretty niche IP in 2022. As for me I haven't played this since the PS3 digital version about 10 years ago so I'm excited to give it another whirl.
@@jamescampisi7716 Chill out Mr. Edgelord - no need to be an abrasive asshole to people that are interested in playing the damn game. I'm about 4 hours in and it's fine & perfectly playable with a bit of tweaking in Nvidia settings to turn on V-Sync & max the framerate at 59. Is it perfect? No. Should i have been required to mess with Nvidia settings to improve performance? No. Could SQE have done a better job with the AI upscaling and optimization? Yes. But is it serviceable and halfway decent? Yes.
I also watched the Digital Foundries video and while their points are completely cogent & solid there's also an element of emotionalism in their critique because the game is obviously near and dear to them. As for myself as I stated previously I consider it somewhat of a failed experiment, a very rough gem so to speak, and as such don't consider it sacred. If some people that really love the game wanted more than an unoptimized glorified emulated version, are disappointed in SQE, and are voting "no" with their wallet I completely respect that.
However a lot of us just want to play the damn game on PC or some other format that's not the essentially discontinued digital PS3 version from 10 years ago or going through the hassle of finding a (legal) copy of the original and getting it working/optimized on an emulator. It's still a fun game and I and others are having a great time playing even though the version is underwhelming. That doesn't make us bad people and if you want to warn people avoid the game on account of the technical deficiencies of the game there's much more respectable ways to go about it...
the upscaled backgrounds looks like paintings, I love it
Glad they finally patched it
im glad you made a review of this beloved game. I'm planning to get the physical game and get the digital on my PS4 for the theme